Everyone’s had an awful breakup, yet some haunt us forever — whether it’s an ex creating chaos or our own rev::enge gone too far. Those stories stick, which makes us laugh or cringe for years.

1. The Tinder trap

So, last week, my coworker pulled me aside and said, “Your Tinder bio is hilarious, but maybe a little too honest?” Alarm bells.

Turns out, my lovely ex had created a fake account using my photos and the bio: “Full-time mess, part-time plate juggler (literally—I dropped one last week). I own 12 plants but forgot to water 11. Swipe right if you can parallel park because I can’t.”

Now, my coworker keeps offering to “teach me” how to park. Thanks, Steve.

2. The wedding crasher extraordinaire

After I left my ex, he became obsessed with winning me back — or at least ruining my life. When he found out I was getting married, he RSVP’d to the wedding under a fake name. On the big day, he showed up dressed as a mime, complete with face paint, refusing to speak but mimicking everyone’s actions. He was eventually escorted out, but not before leaving a trail of chaos and making my new in-laws question my family’s stability. My husband and I laugh about it now, calling him “The Mime Who Couldn’t Move On.”

3. The case of the missing remote

We had a bitter fight about the TV before breaking up, mostly over what to watch. A week later, I realized every single remote control in my house was missing. My TV remote, my fan remote, even the remote for the LED lights under my bed—all gone.

I tore the place apart and finally found them… taped inside a Tupperware container, frozen in a block of ice in my freezer. She’d left a sticky note on top: “Cool off, loser.”

4. The rebranded coffee

My ex knew I loved my morning coffee. I always ordered from the same café and even used a reward card. After the breakup, she worked her connections and somehow convinced the barista to rebrand my usual latte as “The Sad Single.”

I found out when the barista yelled, “Sad Single for Brian!” in front of a packed line. Turns out she was friends with the barista’s roommate. I tipped double and pretended I didn’t care, but I started making coffee at home after that.

5. The silent alarm

After we split, I started waking up at 4:17 a.m. every day, even though I hadn’t set an alarm. I thought I was losing it.

Then I remembered we’d connected our phones to the same smart home system. She was using the app to set alarms on my devices remotely. I got revenge by setting her lights to flash like a rave at 3 a.m. every night until she blocked me.

6. The glitter rev:en:ge

I was heartbroken when I found out that my boyfriend had been cheating. Instead of confrontation, I chose chaos. I purchased industrial-grade glitter, the kind that clings to your soul, and placed packets of it inside his car vents. Every time he turned on the AC or heat, glitter erupted like a fabulous, never-ending blizzard. Months later, he was still finding specks in his hair, clothes, and coffee mug.

7. The post-it scandal

He covered my car in bright pink sticky notes that spelled out, “Thanks for NOTHING.” It rained that night. Took hours to scrape off the mess.

8. The fake wedding scheme

I started dating someone new less than a week after we broke up. My ex went crazy because of it. She designed fake wedding invitations announcing that I was tying the knot — with a random date and an over-the-top venue. She sent them to all my friends and family. The fallout was disastrous. My new girlfriend thought I’d planned a wedding without telling her, and my mom called me in tears, demanding answers. Needless to say, I had a lot of “wedding” things to cancel.

9. The selfie sabotage

My ex posted an unflattering picture of me from a night out together. I was making a weird face and had just spilled my drink on myself.

The caption? “When you think you’re cute, but the universe disagrees.” It went viral among our friend group, and for a while, I was that girl who couldn’t take a good picture. Thanks, ex.

10. The fake pregnancy

My ex tried to win me back by telling me he’d met someone else, and she was pregnant. I felt awful for about a day until I noticed he’d reused an old ultrasound photo from Pinterest. I printed the screenshot, mailed it to him, and blocked him. Guess he’s due for some therapy instead.

11. The Venmo request

My ex sent me a Venmo request for $20, claiming I “owed him” for gas money during our relationship. I paid him—with the note: “For all the emotional labor I put in, we’re even now.”

12. The forgotten box

After we broke up, my ex left a box of “special stuff” at my place, demanding I keep it safe. I opened it months later and found old love letters… to his other exes. I mailed it back with a sticky note: “You forgot these. Again.”

13. The playlist of doom

After my ex and I broke up, I needed a way to channel my anger. That’s when inspiration struck. I created a Spotify playlist titled “Reasons We Didn’t Work Out” and filled it with songs like “Toxic” by Britney Spears and “I Forgot That You Existed” by Taylor Swift. Then, I shared it with all his friends. It didn’t take long before I started hearing people talk about it at parties, laughing at how specific the song choices were. Ben tried to brush it off, but I know it hit him where it hurt. Revenge never sounded so sweet.

Awful breakups aren’t just about heartbreak — they’re about the chaos, the drama, and sometimes the ridiculous lengths we or our exes will go to for closure or lack thereof. Admit it: there’s at least one “crazy ex” story you still laugh — or cringe — about to this day.